A Rawhide Story- A Friend for Mushy Part 2
by Katie Zakrzewski
Summary: When Mr. Favor fires Mushy, Cinnamon leaves as well


"Ouch!" I winced as Wishbone tightened the bandages around my head.  
"Sorry  
Cinnamon," he said.  
I winced in reply.  
"He hit that melon of yours pretty  
hard," Wishbone said. "Give it about a week  
though and you should be  
alright."  
"Thanks Wish," I said, slowly standing up.  
"I'll help you to your bedroll," Mushy said, putting an arm around my shoulder.  
I leaned heavily up against him as he pretty much drug me to my bedroll. He laid  
me  
down, and I'd pretty much fallen asleep as soon as he did.

A week ago,  
Mr. Favor had sent Rowdy into town to hire on a couple new drovers.  
He had  
walked up to a large group of men and asked the two in the front if  
they  
wanted the job. Well, as it turns out, all ten of them were brothers,  
and the  
ten began to desperately fight it out for a spot on the drive. Rowdy,  
knowing  
that if he didn't stop it, there wouldn't be anybody left to hire,  
hired all  
ten.  
Mr. Favor had given everyone a week, and the next morning  
when I woke up,  
the week was over. In situations like these, Mr. Favor never  
really fires the  
men who have been on the drive for a long time, just the  
newbies he's not very  
pleased with, but still, when announcements like these  
are made, no one sits  
easily.  
I'd made a point to be last in line for  
coffee, to make sure nobody grew  
suspicious, as I pulled my hat down tighter  
on my head. My head pounded as I  
took a cup from Wishbone.  
"How ya  
feeling?" he asked.  
"Not too well," I answered. "But I'll get better."  
"I  
hope so," Mushy said.  
"Alright everybody, gather round," Mr. Favor yelled,  
taking a sip off of his  
coffee. I plopped down beside my rolled up bedroll,  
and Mushy sat down beside  
me.  
"What I have here," Mr. Favor said. "Is a  
list. And on this list are the  
names of the boys," Mr. Favor looked at me.  
"There's a hint by the way," he said  
with a smile. We all laughed nervously  
as Mr. Favor continued. "And on this list  
are the names of the boys who will  
not be with us anymore. It's been a very  
impressive week, but we have to let  
some of you go. When your name is called,  
please collect your things and a  
week's worth of pay, and you'll be on your way.  
Sorry for any  
trouble."  
And Mr. Favor began to call off the names. "Roy, Calhoun, Chris,  
Donny,  
Mike, " Mr. Favor began to wrap up the list. "Dave, Jack,  
and...Mushy."  
Everybody froze, and I looked at poor Mushy. "Pardon me, Mr.  
Favor?" Mushy  
asked, looking confused and hurt.  
"I'm sorry Mushy," Mr.  
Favor started. "But these are hard times we've fallen on,  
and a cook's  
assistant is expendable. I'm really sorry Mushy, I really am."  
"But Mr.  
Favor!" I stood up to protest, and Mr. Favor had seen it coming.  
"Cinnamon, I  
know-"  
"No you don't know!" I said. "Mushy does his job and he's good at it  
at  
that! He's not just a cook's assistant, but he's a pretty good drover too.  
And  
he's my friend. He does his job and stays out of trouble! And isn't that  
what  
you expect out of all of your men? After all the bullying and name  
calling  
that's sent Mushy's way, the least you could do is let him keep his  
job. Instead  
you take it away. That's real professional!"  
"You don't have  
to-" Mushy started, tugging at my sleeve. But I'd already  
been riled up, and  
the boys knew it. My face grew redder and my voice grew  
louder. My head  
pounded, and the pain made me even more frightening. I plowed on  
head first  
into dangerous territory. I was nearly screaming. "This is a gang!  
Bullies!"  
I shouted. "And I don't wanna be a part of it."  
"You better watch it Missy,"  
Mr. Favor warned, or else your name will be on this  
list too," he held up the  
list of fired boy's names. I winced. I had warned him  
when I signed on to  
never call me Missy. It was something my parents had called  
me whenever I was  
in trouble, and I wanted to get rid of all those memories as  
quickly as  
possible. I was tired of Mr. Favor thinking he could use my past  
against me  
to keep a close hold on me. I wouldn't let him do so.  
"Oh, don't you worry  
about that Mr. Favor." I said, picking up my bedroll  
and standing up.  
"Because I quit!"  
Mr. Favor stood with his mouth wide open, along with the  
other boys. "You can't  
do that!" he said.  
I slung my saddle on my horse.  
"Watch me!"  
Mushy, not knowing what else to do, and being fresh out of a job,  
got his  
pay, and swung up on his horse beside me. I had known that would be  
bad for Mr.  
Favor, because I had overheard him saying that I was one of the  
best. And I was  
also a pet to all the boys on the drive. Let them tell Mr.  
Favor he made a  
mistake, because it seemed as though he wasn't going to  
listen to me. Besides,  
Mr. Favor owed me one. I had helped him out of a  
couple jams in the last few  
months.  
As I looked back at all the boys, I  
was afraid I was making a mistake. I  
really did like it here. But for Mushy's  
sake, and for the sake of pride, I too,  
like Mr. Favor, held my ground. I  
looked back at the boys with anger still  
flaming in my eyes. "Come on Mushy,"  
I said. "Let's get outta here."  
And together, we rode off.  
TO BE  
CONTINUED...  
Thanks to my little brother Nick, for all the help.  
Enjoy!  
And look for Part III coming soon!


End file.
